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Demandred
| appeared= | lastappeared= | living=amol | status=Dead }} Demandred (DEE-man-drehd), previously known as Barid Bel Medar and known in Shara as Bao the Wyld, is one of the thirteen Forsaken who was trapped at Shayol Ghul due to the Dragon's sealing. Appearance He is hook nosed and handsome, but he never smiles. He is tall with jet black hair. History Barid Bel Medar lived his life in the shadow of Lews Therin Telamon. Born one day after Lews Therin, he was almost as strong in the One Power as him and almost as honoured and influential. Graendal states that had it not been for Lews Therin he would have been the most acclaimed man of his Age. He held high offices, and wrote books, not quite as high or successful as Lews Therin. Because of all this, he hates Lews Therin with every ounce of himself - more so even than Sammael - thinking him a lucky fool. He also once desired Lews Therin's wife Ilyena. During the War of Power, he finally equaled Lews Therin at something; as a great military commander, he won important victories for the Light. However, when Lews Therin was appointed commander of the forces of Light, Demandred was furious. Believing himself the superior general, he calculated that with Lews Therin at the command of the Light, the Shadow would triumph. Ironically, Demandred's assessment was right, for if Lews Therin Telamon had continued pursuing a military victory instead of sealing up the Bore with his Hundred Companions, it is likely the Shadow would have indeed been victorious. Filled with jealousy and contempt, Demandred decided to proclaim for the Shadow, and he sided with the other Chosen in the third year of the War. Graendal herself took him into the Pit of Doom to take his oaths for the Dark One. Later during the War, Demandred fed two entire captured cities to the Trollocs; he felt that they had slighted him when he was still fighting for the Light. Demandred also believed himself the superior of the other Forsaken. He was at odds with Sammael in particular, since both men wanted to be the one to personally defeat Lews Therin. Despite this however, he was always slightly perturbed by Ishamael. During another part of the war, after Demandred founded the Eighty and One, he confronted Lews Therin in battle. Tellindal Tirraso was present and was struck by lightning called down by the enemy. Leading forces together with Be'lal, he approached the construction sites of the Choedan Kal. Barely holding the forces of Shadow at bay, Lews Therin decided to strike at Shayol Ghul itself together with the Hundred Companions. Sealing the Bore, the Companions also by happenstance managed to trap the thirteen most powerful of the Forsaken, among them Demandred, in a deep sleep for three thousand years. thumb|right|Demandred Activities Release Shortly after his release, Demandred traveled to Shara searching for D'jedt, also known as Sakarnen, the scepter Sa'angreal. Taking the name Bao and posing as a slave, Demandred unwittingly began to fulfill the Sharan prophesies of The Wyld. He led a slave rebelion and was adopted by Mintel, an elderly abrishi man. To sow chaos, he freed the Male Ayyad, who took the name "The Freed". He met Shendla, who became one of his strongest supporters and his lover. In 999 NE Demandred traveled to Shayol Ghul and spoke with the Dark One about him becoming nae'blis. The Dark One told him of things to come, of who would live and who would die. Seventeen days later Demandred met with Mesaana and Semirhage and formed an alliance with them. It is likely that at this time Demandred recruited Mazrim Taim to the Shadow and ordered him to attach himself to Rand al'Thor. Other than ordering the death of Rand al'Thor at least once, his plans and identity remained unrevealed until the beginning of The Last Battle. Sammael once thought to himself that "events to the south" were almost certainly the work of Demandred; Sammael was in Arad Doman at the time. This could mean Demandred had a hand in the presence of the Seanchan in Tarabon, the upheaval within the Children of the Light, or the Prophet Masema and his Dragonsworn. Granted, the Seanchan were being, at least in part, controlled by Semirhage. However, Semirhage is allied with Demandred and Mesaana so it is possible that the "work of Demandred" could have referred to some part of Semirhage, Demandred and Mesaana's plan, devised by Demandred, but which was carried out by Semirhage. At a meeting with the other Forsaken , Aran'gar comments that Demandred and Osan'gar had been charged with watching Rand. The only open action Demandred undertook prior to The Last Battle was to appear at the Battle near Shadar Logoth when al'Thor cleansed saidin, nearly getting himself killed by some of Rand's guards. He attends the meeting with the other Chosen in Tel'aran'rhiod, which is made to look like the Ansaline Gardens. There he is told that Rand is not to be harmed and that Matrim Cauthon and Perrin Aybara are to be killed if found. The Wyld It was at this time that Demandred, as Bao, came to walk the path of Angarai'la, The River of Souls. The prophecies of the Wyld stated that the Wyld would walk the path, enter the Hearttomb and retrieve the piece of Sakarnen that was hidden there. When Demandred entered Rai'lair, he battled one of the ancient guardians of the tomb, an adult Jumara, and killed one Green Man. He returned to his people at sunset on the third day. He is summoned to the Blight to meet with Moridin and Mesaana and is forbidden by Moridin to rescue Semirhage from Rand. During the meeting he also stated that his rule is secure and he gathers his troops for war. thumb|right|Demandred from the [[CCG]] The Last Battle Moridin gathers the last of the Chosen within one of his dreamshards. Moridin reveals two unfamiliar looking Chosen, the male who is Mazrim Taim is renamed M'Hael. Demandred and M'Hael already knew each other before the meeting and it is revealed that it was Demandred who brought M'Hael to the Shadow. The unfamiliar female Chosen present is named Hessalam, who is actually Graendal in a new body. Moghedien is placed under Demandred's command. Moridin then demands that all other plots and plans by the Chosen are to be concluded and that they are to unite for The Last Battle against the forces of the Light. Demandred appears leading the Sharan forces against the White Tower army on the Kandori battlefront. As the forces of the Tower appear to be routing the Trolloc army, a massive gateway opens and an army of Sharans pour out and overrun the White Tower camp, executing all captives in a brutal fashion. Demandred discovers Leane as the Sharans are still securing the Aes Sedai camp and easily captures her. He then tells her to relay a message to the Dragon Reborn. He challenges Rand al'Thor to combat, revealing himself as someone he once knew as Barid, confirming his identity. As Rand was already at the Bore, this message was never delivered. When the battle resumes at Merrilor, he is eventually pitted in tactics against Mat. He has the upper hand due to superior forces, and is easily skilled enough to hold on to this advantage. However he constantly remarks how capable the enemy commander is and that no one of the age could be that proficient with tactics. He therefore thinks this commander is in fact Lews Therin. As such, though he could have easily Traveled to Mat's command post and annihilated everyone in it, he refrained from doing so due to his suspicion that Lews Therin was attempting to trap him. Besides commanding troops, he acted during the battle as a piece of human artillery, cutting swaths through Mat's forces while leading a full circle of seventy two and wielding a powerful sa'angreal: Sakarnen. Demandred repeatedly calls out for Rand to face him directly in single combat. He participates in single combat on four occasions in the battle. The first attacker is Gawyn, enhanced by three Seanchan Bloodknife rings. Demandred notices his assassination attempt, and despite Gawyn's rings he defeats him fairly handily and without injury. Galad attacks second, calling out Demandred to face the brother of the Dragon Reborn, while protected by Mat's Foxhead medallion. He does injure Demandred, but loses his sword-arm in the encounter. Logain attacks Demandred as the fight with Galad is concluding (enabling his escape), but Demandred manages to shield him and nearly kills him. However, Logain managed to throw a rock as Demandred, which struck him and surprised him long enough for Logain to flee with a gateway. Finally, Lan retrieves the foxhead medallion from the wounded Galad and challenges Demandred. His skill, determination, and single-mindedness initially catch Demandred completely off guard. Astounded by his foe's prowess, Demandred quickly gives over to fighting with all his focus instead of trying to use the Power to throw objects at Lan. Unfortunately, Lan, having been engaged in pitched fighting all day, was tired even before the duel began while Demandred was relatively fresh. Pressing his advantage and assured of victory, Demandred underestimates Lan's resolve as Lan, implementing the Sheathing the Sword technique allows Demandred to inflict a terrible but non-fatal wound to his side. With his sword stuck in Lan, Demandred was unable to block Lan's subsequent attack, and was fatally stabbed through the throat. His death caused a major amount of confusion and disarray for the Shadow's forces, which was taken advantage of by Mat to ultimately secure victory. Demandred is also portrayed in a more human way before and during last battle. Rand (united with Lews Therin Telamon) thinks about how his own arrogance drove Demandred to the Shadow. Moreover, Demandred fell in love with the leader of the Sharan Ayyad, although his rage against Lews Therin won over his love. His lover hoped that after his revenge on Dragon Reborn, he could finally let go and love her. It is also revealed that Demandred, seeing no hope for defeating the Dark One, had intended to use his favor with the Dark One to protect the Sharans and all those he cared for after the Dark One's victory. Identity Before he revealed himself in Kandor, there was much speculation as to Demandred's identity. It was once widely suspected that Mazrim Taim was Demandred, but Robert Jordan has stated to the contrary. Additionally, Jordan has stated that Demandred had not appeared "on screen" as any other character before Knife of Dreams. Also, during the [[cleansing of saidin|cleansing of saidin]], Demandred saw Damer Flinn, one of Taim's first Black Tower recruits, and didn't recognize him. He also orders Raefar Kisman, Manel Rochaid, Charl Gedwyn and Peral Torval to kill Rand. It is also stated by Kisman that Taim orders the four to kill Rand as well, as if the two didn't know each others' orders. Another popular theory was that Demandred was Charlz Guybon, partially due to his physical similarities to Demandred (tall and handsome), but also because Guybon is described by Elayne as: "... his face seemed suited to smiling. He looked as if he had not smiled in too long." This, coupled with the description of Demandred as a man who "never smiles," seemed to provide a good fit. Others theorized that he could be impersonating King Roedran of Murandy, who was also unseen on the page until the final book and has recently consolidated his power and formed a standing army for the first time. He reported to Moridin that his "rule is secure and his armies march for war." es:Demandred Category:Blademasters